The TpDPP COF nano-spheres were synthesized by the reaction between the 0.03 mmol triformylphloroglucinol (Tp), and 0.045 mmol 3,8-diamino-6-phenylphenathridine (DPP) in the presence of a catalytic amount (10-15mL) of trifluoroacetic acid (figure 1a and section S-2). The reaction conditions first led to the direct nucleation of the organic building blocks, followed by spatiotemporal growth. The formation of the organic framework structure of the COF nano-spheres could be ascertained by the intense PXRD peak at [3.65±0.06] (2
θ) imputed to their (100) plane diffractions (Figure 1d). 29 The experimental diffraction pattern manifests good agreement with the slipped-AA stacking models¢ simulated powder diffraction pattern. Additionally, the Pawley refinement between the simulated slipped-AA model and the experimental powder diffraction pattern using the Reflex Plus module of the Material Studio (Figure S2) showed good agreement (R p = 4.5%, R wp = 5.4%). The N 2 adsorption analysis revealed a surface area (S BET) of 686 m 2g -1 with a uniform pore size (~1.9 nm) distribution (Figure S8 and S9). The FTIR spectra of TpDPP nano-spheres displayed intense peaks at 1600–1625 (–C=O), 1579 (–C=C), 1277 cm -1 (–C–N), and peaks at 1671 (–C=O of free –CHO), 2851-2920 (–C–H of free –CHO), 3067-3352 cm -1 (–N–H stretching of free –NH 2) (Figure S5). The FTIR spectra suggested the formation of a β-ketoenamine backbone 30-32 and the presence of free aldehyde and amine functionalities on the sphere surface. The presence of free aldehyde and amine functionalities indicates incomplete crystallization and structural defects. The zeta potential of the colloidal COF nano-spheres in DCM was measured to be +65.4 mV at 20 °C, which suggests the presence of the defused positive charges at the interface between the solid COF nano-spheres and the solvent molecules (Figure 2e). As expected, the dispersible COF nano-spheres' zeta potential dropped to +9.5 mV after neutralization with triethylamine (Et 3N) (Figure 2f). The dynamic light scattering (DLS) analyses revealed the as-synthesized COF nano-spheres¢ average size to be in the range of 590-610 nm (Figure 2e-f). The size and zeta potential of COF nano-spheres remained unaltered (626 nm and +65.4 mV as-synthesized vs. 632 nm and +61.7 mV) for four months (Figure 2g and 2j). Such a constant presence of permanent positive charges at the solid-liquid interface made these nano-spheres stable in solution and prevented their aggregation.
The high surface area and defects within the COF nano-spheres made them a promising candidate for the physisorption of catalytically active (Et
4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] molecules within the condensed space. In enzyme catalysis, the amide functionalities of the enzyme backbone or the charged amino acid side chains can influence the active sites' electronic properties through long-range interactions. 33 We envisaged that the hydrogen bonding between the first coordination sphere amide functionality (–C=O) of the (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] molecules and the free –NH 2 of the COF nano-spheres has a significant effect on the catalytic reactivity and selectivity. Such increased reactivity towards oxidation reactions upon binding Lewis acids to the ligand carbonyl in the related oxo Mn(V)-TAML complexes has been reported earlier. 34,35 The Raman spectra of the (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] catalyst obtained upon 785 nm excitation revealed the presence of an Am I (–C=O stretch) band at 1616 cm -1 and an Am II (C–N stretch) band at 1569 cm -1. The catalyst Am I (–C=O stretch) band red-shifted to 1601 cm -1, and a new peak appeared at 1621 cm -1 due to the immobilization of the catalyst inside the COF nano-spheres. Similarly, the catalyst Am II (C–N stretch) band blue-shifted to 1573 cm -1, and a new peak appeared at 1562 cm -1 (Figure S31). This shift in –C=O and C–N stretch bands indicates the presence of N─H···O hydrogen bonding between the free amine of the COF nano-sphere and the amide carbonyl of the immobilized catalyst. 36,37 The XPS analysis of the (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] catalyst revealed the deconvoluted C 1s spectra, which indicates the presence of two distinct peaks at 286.1 and 287.1 eV corresponding to the amide carbon and the diamide carbon, respectively (Figure S32-33). While immobilized inside the COF nano-sphere, these two peaks appeared at almost similar regions (286.6-286.9 eV) due to the hydrogen bonding and could not be appropriately resolved. 38
1.0 mg of solid COF nano-spheres can immobilize ~95% (Et
4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] catalyst from 1 ml 0.2 and 0.4 mM solution in acetonitrile (Figure S14-15). We believe that the positively charged COF nano-sphere matrix, containing –NH 3 + and N–H functional groups, drives the immobilization of negatively charged [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2- molecules. Consequently, we can control the wt% loading of the immobilized catalyst within the dispersible COF nano-spheres by increasing the amount of COF nano-spheres and keeping the concentration of the catalytic solution (1 ml 0.4 mM solution in acetonitrile) constant (Figure S55 and section S-19). We deliberately formulated COF nano-spheres for catalyst immobilization because of their adsorption capacity, by considering a similar quantity of highly crystalline COF powder 39 and films (Figure S12). TpDPP COF powder (1565 m 2g -1) and thin-film (1265 m 2g -1) do have a higher surface area compared to the nano-spheres (686 m 2g -1). However, the catalyst adsorption capacity of the COF nano-spheres (94.8%) is 2-3 times higher than the COF powder (47%) and COF thin-films (21%). Furthermore, the COF nano-spheres' ability to transmute into thin-films gave us another avenue to fabricate COF thin-films with a higher amount of immobilized catalyst. The dispersible COF nano-spheres achieved 90% of their absorption efficiency within 90 seconds. The maximum uptake of the (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] catalyst by the as-synthesized TpDPP COF nano-spheres was found to be 378.9 mg g -1. We have performed the identical absorption experiment with another iron-based electrophilic homogeneous catalyst [Fe II(S, S-PDP)](SbF 6) 2, which is a cationic complex and also known to catalyze the hydroxylation reaction of C-H bonds (Figure S16-17). The immobilization of [Fe II(S,S-PDP)](SbF 6) 2 into the porous COF nano-sphere matrix was only 36%, due to the ionic repulsion between the two cationic species.
In CH
3CN, [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@1X TpDPP COF nano-spheres (catalyst immobilized from 1 ml 0.4 mM acetonitrile solution by 1 mg of COF nano-spheres) was found to catalyze the hydroxylation of adamantane (8 mM; 20 eq.) with NaOCl (0.1 M, 250 eq.) to yield 1-adamantol as the primary product with a 45:1 selectivity for the 3° C-H bond over the 2° C-H bond (Figure 3c). Optimization reactions performed with various (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] loaded COF nano-spheres indicated that the maximum reactivity (73% conversion, 70% yield) and selectivity (3°:2º=101:1) was observed for [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres (catalyst immobilized from 1 ml0.4 mM acetonitrile solution by 2 mg of COF nano-spheres) (Figure S55). This optimization study indicated that maximum loading of COF nano-spheres with (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] reduced the selectivity of oxidation due to possible processes involving dimeric oxoiron intermediates formed due to their proximity. On the contrary, when the loading was significantly reduced, the conversions decreased, indicating that the rates slowed due to excess COF present. Based on this data, [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres were employed as the catalyst for all subsequent reactions. Control reactions
performed with only NaOCl (0.1 mM) or bare COF nano-spheres afforded <5% products. We have explored the oxidation of a series of substrates containing unactivated 3° C-H bonds and 2° benzylic C-H bonds using [Fe
III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres as the catalyst and NaOCl as the oxidant in CH 3CN under the optimized conditions (Figure 3f and section S-19). The heterogeneous oxidation of adamantane, having twelve 2° C-H and four 3° C-H bonds afforded selectively 1-adamantanol in ~70% yield with remarkably high regioselectivity (i.e., 101:1) of the 3° C-H bond over the 2° C-H bond (Figure 3c). In the case of cis-1,2 -dimethylcyclohexane, trans-1,2-dimethylcyclohexane, and cis-decalin (Figure 3f), mainly 3° hydroxylated products were obtained in 90%, 42%, and 85% yields with 99% stereo-retention. Substrates having activated benzylic C-H bonds such as ethylbenzene (EB), diphenylmethane (DPM), dihydroanthracene (DHA), and xanthene were explored. Primarily ketone products were formed for all these substrates with high conversion and yield (Fig. 3f-h). The oxidation of 3 º C–H bonds in simple hydrocarbons was then extended to natural product derivatives. For example, cedryl acetate, a natural product derivative of cedrol found in essential oil, having a rigid structure with five 3° C–H bonds, affords a single hydroxylated product in 70% yield (Figure 3h). Ambroxide, a naturally occurring terpenoid used in perfumery, undergoes exclusive oxidation at the alpha ethereal C–H bond predominantly among many other electronically and sterically accessible secondary and tertiary C–H bonds (Figure 3h). Finally, the use of alkenes as substrates led to the corresponding epoxides' formation in high yields (60-99%) (Figure 3g). During these catalytic reactions, the products formed parallel those that have been found under homogeneous conditions using Fe-bTAML analogs and NaOCl. We have previously demonstrated 40 that (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] reacts with NaOCl to form the active oxoiron(V) intermediate, which is responsible for substrate oxidation. For the [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres, X-band EPR spectrum at 123K (Figure S34) manifested a rhombic S= ½ species with g = 2.00, 1.93, and 1.73, which indicated that the same oxoiron(V) intermediate was generated inside the COF nano-spheres, which confirms that the overall mechanism of oxidation remained unchanged upon immobilization of the catalyst.
Although the overall mechanism of oxidation remains unchanged, several aspects are worth noting. The selectivity obtained for the oxidation of hydrocarbons in the [Fe
III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@COF nano-spheres far exceeds what is observed under homogeneous conditions. For catalytic oxidation of adamantane using (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML]/NaOCl under homogeneous conditions in air, the selectivity towards 3º C-H is reduced nearly four-folds (110:1 in the absence of air to 31:1 in the presence of air). This reduction in selectivity occurs since some of the carbon-centered radicals formed during C-H abstraction react with O 2 via the "non-rebound" pathway leading to an additional free radical auto-oxidation pathway. In fact, during the homogeneous oxidation of adamantane in air, 1-adamantanol is formed along with other products such as 2-adamantanol and 2-adamantanone (9-10%), which significantly reduces the regioselectivity of 3° C-H bond oxidation over 2° C-H bonds.
However, the regioselectivity obtained for adamantane oxidation by [Fe
III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres, in the presence of O 2, is similar (3°:2° = 101:1 based on the statistical correction for the number of C−H bonds) to that obtained for reactions that were performed under homogeneous conditions with (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] in the absence of O 2. 41,42 Such regioselectivity could be due to the total shutdown of the free-radical pathway since the hydrophobic scaffold of the COF nano-spheres creates an appropriate binding pocket for both the anionic macrocyclic catalyst ( via ionic interactions) and the substrate ( via predominantly hydrophobic interactions). Consequently, the carbon-centered radical formed upon C-H abstraction does not escape to the bulk to react with O 2, thereby initiating a free-radical process that would significantly reduce the selectivity. Therefore, the oxidation mechanism solely involves the "rebound" of the carbon-centered radical with the Fe(IV)-OH to form the hydroxylated product with high regioselectivity and stereo-retention. 43 Additionally, the prototype Fe-bTAML complex under homogeneous conditions displays poor turnover numbers for catalytic oxidation of hydrocarbons since it undergoes acid or base induced demetallation with chemical oxidants (e.g., mCPBA or NaOCl) (pH=12.6) (Figure S42). We need to i) modify the head part of the Fe-bTAML by introducing a –NO 2 group to increase its robustness to hydrolytic degradation, 44,45 and ii) use sodium phosphate buffer to maintain the pH of the reaction to achieve a high turnover number. In this case, high catalytic efficiency was observed with the prototype Fe-bTAML encapsulated inside the COF nano-spheres. Besides, no further use of base was required for maintaining the pH. The [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres could be recycled up to 4 cycles without altering the activity and selectivity of the catalyst (Figure 3d). The improved reactivity of (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML], when incarcerated inside the COF nano-spheres, resembles enzymes like cytochrome P450 in which the hydrophobic cavity facilitates oxidation of water-insoluble hydrophobic substrates by efficiently partitioning them inside the cavity. We wanted to explore if the oxidation of water-insoluble substrates could be carried out with [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@2X TpDPP COF nano-spheres using water as the solvent. It should be noted that homogeneous C–H functionalization in water using Fe-complexes is an arduous task since the high-valent oxoiron intermediates formed upon addition of oxidant react with the O-H bond of water, which is present in much greater concentration. We have earlier shown the in 100% water, (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] catalyzes water oxidation to form O 2 via the oxoiron(V) intermediate. However, our attempts for C–H functionalization were unsuccessful, as the COF nano-spheres aggregated in water.
Hence, we decided to construct TpDPP COF thin-films from the catalyst immobilized TpDPP COF nano-spheres
via covalent self-assembly. Individual TpDPP COF nano-spheres undergo covalent self-assembly in the water-DCM bilayer or even while drop-casted on top of any support, and eventually form uniform COF nano-films. The COF nano-films are more crystalline and porous than COF nano-spheres and do not undergo any further transmutation in water. The covalent self-assembly driven by the free amine and aldehyde functionality of the COF nano-spheres occurs via a unique, dynamic process previously unheard of. The attractive capillary forces and convective transport of the COF nano-spheres drive their self-assembly. Consequently, when two separate spheres come in contact, they start reacting via a reversible Schiff base reaction, which initiates the fibers/threads' protrusion at their interface (Figure 3a-i and section S-2). The distribution of fibers enhances with time to accomplish the formation of a COF nano-film of thicknesses of 250-270 nm after three days (Figure 5e-f and S44). It is quite fascinating that the probability/chance of immobilized (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] molecules escaping from the COF nano-spheres to the bulk during the covalent self-assembly was nullified entirely by the non-covalent interactions of the catalyst molecules with the COF binding pockets. The dynamic transmutation from the nano-spheres ® nano-fibers ® nano-films did not affect the immobilized catalyst molecules and culminated in highly fecund catalytical COF thin-films. The EDX analysis confirmed uniform distribution of (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] within COF nano-spheres, nano-films, and every intermediate phase during this transmutation process (Figure S37). We have monitored the spheres ® fibers ® film transmutation with confocal imaging to ascertain the immobilized catalysts' enduring stability during the covalent self-assembly (Figure 4j-m and section S-15). The confocal imaging revealed the uniform adsorption and distribution of (Rhodamine B) dye molecules inside the COF nano-spheres and COF fibers, which manifested their high porosity and adsorption capacity. These (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] molecules are confined within the hydrophobic pockets of the COF thin-film. Because of the hydrophobicity of the [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@TpDPP COF thin-films (contact angle 123.2°), only the hydrophobic substrates could contact the active catalytic sites but not the water molecules (Figure 5c and S41). The wt% loading of the (Et 4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] catalyst within the COF nano-spheres and the COF thin-films were found to be 23 wt% and 19 wt%, respectively (Section S-7). The ICP-MS analysis of the catalyst immobilized COF nano-spheres and COF film showcased the percentage of metal (Fe) loading to be 4.5 and 3.6 wt% respectively.
We could achieve the heterogenous C–H functionalization in water for the very first-time using (Et
4N) 2[Fe III(Cl)bTAML] - immobilized COF nano-films. To a dispersion of [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@TpDPP COF thin-film in water was added adamantane and NaOCl (0.1 M, 250 eq. added iteratively), and the reaction was allowed to proceed for 1.5 hrs. Analysis of the products showed the formation of 1-adamantanol with 45% yield (47% conversion) and 141:1 ( 3°: 2°) selectivity Figure 5a). With cis-dimethyl cyclohexane as the substrate, cis dimethyl cyclohexanol (yield 75%) was formed as the predominant product with 257:1 (3°:2°) regioselectivity and 155:1 ( cis:trans) stereoretention from cis-dimethyl cyclohexane (Figure 5a). After the reaction, the [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@TpDPP COF thin-film was recovered easily by centrifugation. The same thin-film was used for four more subsequent reactions, and the yield and selectivity were unchanged even after the fourth cycle (Figure 5d). We believe that the cis-dimethylcyclohexane preferentially partitions inside the COF nano-spheres in the COF film, and this allows the reaction of water-insoluble substrate oxidation in water. We could not achieve more than 65% conversion in each cycle, probably due to the substrate's similar binding affinity and the product inside the COF film in water. C–H bonds of other substrates such as cis-decahydroanthracene, ethylbenzene (EB), diphenylmethane (DPM), and ambroxide were also oxidized using the [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@TpDPP COF thin-film/NaOCl in water with high catalytic yield and excellent selectivity (Figure 5a-b and section S-19). Under optimized conditions, for cis-decahydroanthracene, 3° hydroxylated products were obtained in 83% yield with 99% stereoretention without the formation of any 2° hydroxylated products. Only keto products were found for the functionalization of EB, DPM, and ambroxide with 99% (acetophenone), 99% (benzophenone), and 91% (sclareolide) yields, respectively (Figure 5a-b and section S-19).
We performed a proof-of-concept flow catalysis
46,47 using catalyst immobilized COF thin-films on a macroporous solid polymeric support to establish the generality of this C–H functionalization approach (Figure 5g and section S-18,19). 90 mg (0.66 millimoles) adamantane was dissolved in 25 ml CH 3CN (0.66 millimoles of bromobenzene as internal standard). It was passed through ~5 mg of [Fe III(Cl)bTAML] 2-@TpDPP COF thin-film (19wt% catalyst loading) for several cycles with iterative addition of NaOCl (0.06 M). After the 60 th cycle, this inflow catalysis showcased the 72% catalytic yield of 1-adamantanol with an excellent turnover number of 355±5 (Figure 5h).


We performed the first retrospective cohort study to evaluate the safety of morphine use in patients with STEMI and AHF undergoing PPCI. The main findings of the study confirmed that morphine use significantly increased the composite frequency of primary outcomes (cardiovascular death and cardiogenic shock) as well as the requirement for invasive mechanical ventilation in-hospital. In contrast, no such association with adverse outcomes was observed after 1 year of follow-up.
The guidelines for the management of AMI in patients with STEMI continue to recommend intravenous morphine as a drug of choice for the alleviation of chest pain, with a class IIA indication[10]. Morphine administration is expected to reduce sympathetic tone and decrease venous return, which leads to increased cardiac workload[11] and results in smaller infarcts and significantly less microvascular obstruction determined by cardiac magnetic resonance[12]. Nevertheless, studies have revealed a correlation between morphine use and worse mortality. In 2005, the observational CRUSADE registry study was the first to demonstrate that intravenous morphine administration in patients presenting with NSTE-ACS was statistically associated with a higher rate of adverse outcomes (3.80% vs 3.00% for MI, 3.80% vs 2.30% for cardiogenic shock, 5.50% vs 4.70% for in-hospital death, and 8.50% vs 7.10% for composite of death and MI)[13]. Zaza et al. found that intravenous morphine was associated with in-hospital MACEs and 30-day mortality and most strongly associated with admission Killip class III–IV (OR=2.3, 1.5–3.5)[9]. According to the studies described above, morphine was not associated with significant adverse outcomes in AMI without HF, but the opposite result was observed in AMI patients with HF.
In our study, we included STEMI patients with advanced Killip class II–IV at admission, which was different from previous studies. Administration of intravenous morphine was associated with elevated risks of cardiac death (OR=2.509), cardiogenic shock (OR=2.636), and a need for mechanical ventilation (OR=2.308) during in-hospital treatment for STEMI with AHF. Similar results were unequivocally confirmed by the observational ADHERE (acute decompensated heart failure national registry) analysis, which revealed that intravenous morphine was independently related with an increased rate of adverse events, including a greater frequency of mechanical ventilation (15.40% vs 2.80%, p<0.001), prolonged hospitalization (5.60 vs 4.20 days, p<0.001), more ICU admissions (38.70% vs 14.40%, p<0.001), and higher mortality (13.00% vs 2.40%, p<0.001) in acute decompensated heart failure[5]. Caspi et al. demonstrated a strong relationship between morphine dosage and in-hospital mortality (17.4% vs 13.4%, OR=1.43). Additionally, intravenous morphine use significantly contributed to a marked risk for the need for additional mechanical ventilation (7.4% vs 3.6%, OR=2.13)[14]. The following factors may explain these results. First, intravenous morphine use might induce respiratory depression and increase the rate of intubation[5]. Second, morphine inhibits gastrointestinal absorption and decreases peak plasma levels of oral antiplatelet drug, potentially leading to decreased treatment efficacy[15-17]. From IMPRESSION trial, co-administration of morphine and ticagrelor resulted in a weaker and retarded antiplatelet effect in patients with AMI[15]. However, an administration of GP IIb/IIIa would diminish the negative impact of morphine on oral P2Y12 receptor, which just 71.2% of patients received GP IIb/IIIa treatment in the iv morphine group v.s 83.3% of patients received GP IIb/IIIa treatment in the without morphine group (p=0.096) in our study. Accordingly, recurrent MI and unstable angina in-hospital in the iv morphine group was higher but did not reach statistical significantly in this study. Furthermore, intravenous morphine use has been linked to multiple gastrointestinal dysfunction, including inhibition of gut motility and vomiting, which significantly affects antiplatelet drug absorption and the occurrence of aspiration pneumonia[18].
Our data also showed that morphine use was not associated with long-time adverse outcomes over 1-year follow-up. Our result was similar to that reported by Zaza[8]. The perhaps reason was that the short-time use of iv morphine was significantly associated with high requirement of in-hospital invasive mechanical ventilation, but not increase recurrent MI and unstable angina in-hospital or during follow-up in STEMI with AHF.
We should acknowledge the limitations of the present study. First, the most obvious limitation of the cohort trial is the non-randomized, retrospective nature. Accordingly, there was a non-significant trend toward older age and a higher percentage of Killip IV cases among patients receiving morphine at baseline. Other unmeasured confounding factors including that decisions with respect to morphine use differed between operators. Secondly, a subgroup study considering different Killip classes should be completed to confirm the different clinical results with morphine use. Additionally, we did not record the dosage of intravenous morphine administered to the morphine group. A previous study demonstrated a dose-dependent risk of morphine in terms of the risk of needing invasive ventilation and the risk of mortality[8]. Finally, larger multicenter, randomized controlled trials are needed to provide more convincing data.


Rain removal has recently attracted increasing research attention, as it is able to enhance the visibility of rain videos. However, the existing learning based rain removal approaches for videos suffer from insufficient training data, especially when applying deep learning to remove rain. In this paper, we establish a large-scale video database for rain removal (LasVR), which consists of 316 rain videos. Then, we observe from our database that there exist the temporal correlation of clean content and similar patterns of rain across video frames. According to these two observations, we propose a two-stream convolutional long- and short- term memory (ConvLSTM) approach for rain removal in videos. The first stream is composed of the subnet for rain detection, while the second stream is the subnet of rain removal that leverages the features from the rain detection subnet. Finally, the experimental results on both synthetic and real rain videos show the proposed approach performs better than other state-of-the-art approaches.


This week’s blog explores how UR cobots have emerged as a powerful resource for electronics manufacturers facing critical business pain points such as unexpected spikes in demand, skilled labor shortages, high mix/low volume production and lack of available floorspace in manufacturing facilities.
In sectors defined by constant change, manufacturers who can quickly adapt to new economic and technological realities can both avoid complacency in good times and ensure survival through difficult times. These days, those companies are often doing it with the help of collaborative automation.
Your Questions Answered on Collaborative Robots in Electronics Manufacturing. For decades, the automotive industry was by far the leading user of robotics, but not anymore. In 2016, robot sales to the electronics industry jumped more than 40%, putting it on par with the automotive industry—and it still continues to grow.
Robotiq completes its Adaptive Grippers offering with Hand-E; the first UR+ certified electric gripper ready for the e-Series, the new cobot line from Universal Robots. Hand-E’s high accuracy combined with a 50mm parallel stroke makes it perfect for precision assembly tasks. Its sealed design ensures reliability in the...


The U.S. is running out of time to prevent a cataclysmic war in the Western Pacific. While the world has been focused on Vladimir Putin’s aggression in Ukraine, Xi Jinping appears to be preparing for an even more consequential onslaught against Taiwan. Mr. Xi’s China is fueled by a dangerous mix of strength and weakness: Faced with profound economic, demographic and strategic problems, it will be tempted to use its burgeoning military power to transform the existing order while it still has the opportunity.
This peaking-power syndrome—the tendency for rising states to become more aggressive as they become more fearful of impending decline—has caused some of the bloodiest wars in history. Unless the U.S. and its allies act quickly, it could trigger a conflict that would make the war in Ukraine look minor by comparison.
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By Janelle W. Henderson
Five years ago in my teacher prep class, I read a piece by Geneva Gay, who wrote about culturally responsive teachers being "in an ethical, emotional, and academic partnership with ethnically diverse students, a partnership that is anchored in respect, honor, integrity, resource sharing, and a deep belief in the possibility of transcendence” (2000, p. 52). Legit? I was both in awe and overwhelmed; it seemed daunting and damn near impossible to educate, build relationships, and be in partnership with my students with their learning.
Now this tenet is at the core of my teaching.
I often share with my third graders: "I respect you: not as a child, but as a human, not as my student, but as a person." The predominantly black students I teach with hardworking, nurturing daddies, mamas, aunties, and grannies are rarely explicitly told or shown this humanity by their teachers, let alone at seven or eight. In the minutiae of our various roles and responsibilities as educators, we sometimes miss seeing the humanity of the people we serve beyond their academic abilities.
My research question remains the same, but I’m shifting my focus slightly from a culturally sustaining framework to a culturally responsive framework.* My question is
In what ways do culturally responsive practices impact black boys’ identity and perceptions of school in a third-grade classroom?
Within this essay, I will share how I build upon the tenet of demonstrating cultural caring, making space to see the humanity of my class, known as Room 112.
I start this process by allowing them to know me as a person, not just as their teacher. Room 112 students know I listen to music from Beyoncé to Megan Thee Stallion, pulling up to school, dancing, with my bass shoving. They know I'm a plant mama who hikes, does yoga, lifts weights, and walks. They know when I was their age, I prided myself on being the Head Mean Girl in Charge and a bully, who bloodied a girl's mouth in a church bathroom. I tell them stories about my life, both showing them who I am as a person, beyond being their teacher, and showing them I'm a human who
makes and has made mistakes.
As David Rockower beautifully shared in his blog
Teacher Vulnerability and Student Engagement: Striving for Authenticity in Middle School, students value sincere apologies from their teachers, and I believe it positively impacts the classroom climate. I continue building cultural caring by apologizing. As a human, sometimes I mishear my students and have bad days.
This all came to a head on a full-moon Friday the 13th, a day where almost everything went wrong. While gathered in a circle, we were discussing how they calm themselves down when they're in a bad mood, and I misheard Garrett:
Me: You said "I don't know" during every circle we've done this week. And if you're not gonna participate, leave the carpet. Garrett: (Looks at me confused) Me: I heard you say, "I don't know." Am I wrong? Garrett: Yes. Me: What did you say? Garrett: Right. Me: (Confused) What did he say, y'all? Room 112: Right. Me back to Garrett: As in Michael was right? Garrett: No. As in write it out. Me: Garrett. Please look at me. I was wrong. My bad. I'm sorry. I'm a human and made a mistake and I was also dead wrong for thinking the worst of you. Garrett: (Shakes his head showing he understands)
In that conversation, a few subtle, but powerful moves aided me in seeing Garrett's humanity. I asked, “Am I wrong?” which is the right question if we seek to dismantle the teacher-student power dynamic, paving the way for a person-to-person dynamic. Because of the culture we have built, making mistakes is okay. It’s okay for me to be wrong sometimes, and that allowed Garrett to clarify what he actually said. Additionally, I made a sincere apology to him publicly, admitting how I was wrong without an excuse instead of blaming him because I didn't hear him correctly.
Another key to creating the climate I want and ensuring I see their humanity is to problem-solve WITH them. When I see students I have to redirect constantly, instead of blaming them, I confer with them. During that conversation, I acknowledge we're having a problem, then ask "What do you need from ME to be successful in Room 112? How can
I support you?" I've had a few conversations like that this year. Garrett asked for a new seat, a squishy fidget, and to be able to write and staple when he gets frustrated. Will asked to sit alone, do his job in the morning only because he was getting distracted in the afternoon, and to have his own set of noise-cancelling headphones. Within these conversations, I've provided the space for them to advocate for themselves in a way that works for both of us. It also shows them that we are on the same team, and I want to work with them and not against them.
I used the lessons I learned last year, about myself and my teaching, to be more explicit with my teaching of academic content, behavior, and ways to self-regulate this year. Sharing about myself outside our classroom, apologizing, and problem-solving with them are key parts of the joy and humanity ever present in Room 112.
References
Gay, Geneva. 2000.
Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Teachers College Press.
Rockower, David. 2019. “Teacher Vulnerability and Student Engagement:
Striving for Authenticity in Middle School”
Heinemann Blog (blog), February 20.
*What's the difference between culturally sustaining practices and culturally responsive practices?
Coined by Djano Parris and H. Samy Alim,
culturally sustaining practices are instructional and teacher practices that critique dominant cultures and sustain, affirm, and center marginalized cultures. Culturally responsive practices are student-centered teacher practices that build upon students' funds of knowledge and include instructional practices that center marginalized cultures. Because my focus is more on my practices that center and affirm the mostly black students I serve, not my curriculum, I shifted my pedagogical framework. Janelle W. Henderson is an activist who uses her curriculum to expand students’ thoughts on identity and blackness through culturally sustaining critical inquiry. She cares about her students as learners, community members, and as people. She has a robust background in several professional cohorts, including the Professional Dyads and Culturally Relevant Teaching and the Kentucky Reading Project. Janelle is currently a 3rd grade teacher at Mill Creek Leadership Academy in Louisville, KY, where she launched a Black Boy Joy Book Club and Black Girl Magic Book Club for second and third graders.
Follow Janelle on Twitter here.


On a drizzling afternoon in August last year, Raju Bhuyan, a 42-year-old resident of Mohari Baandhin Jharkhand’s Jharia town, was roaming the streets of the colony. His attention was suddenly drawn to the wall of a nearby house, on which cracks began to appear. Just as he turned his eyes away from the wall, Bhuyan recalled, a deafening thud reverberated in the neighbourhood. He realised then it was a
bhudhasaan—subsidence—and he ran home to save his family. But “because there was no electricity, my wife and kids were already outside,” Bhuyan told me. “ Tada-tad ghar girne lage. Sab apna ghar chodkar bhagne lage” (One after the other, the houses began to fall. Everyone began to flee their homes.)
Subsidence—the collapse of the surface land—is common in Jharia’s coalfields, owing to the underground mining in the area. When I met Bhuyan, in early November, we stood on the cratered ground of the Mohari Baandh, surrounded by the rubble of homes destroyed during the subsidence he had described. According to Bisnu Bhuyan, another resident of the colony, around 10–12 houses had completely sunk into the ground, and an additional 100—150 houses had been damaged. Despite the damage to their homes, both Raju and Bisnu, like several other residents, continued to live in Mohari Baandh—under tents made of black plastic sheets, which they had pitched beside the road bypassing the colony—because they had not been provided any rehabilitation yet.
Mohari Baandh is a predominantly Dalit colony located on the edge of the Kujama coal mine, where most of the colony’s residents are employed as labourers. The colony is made up primarily of three rows of houses that were distinguishable by the extent to which they had been affected by the surface subsidence. The houses in the first row, which stood beside the main road—the furthest from the mine—showed slight cracks but still had occupants residing in them. The second row, situated further into the colony, was marked by houses with large craters that had debris of bricks in them. The third row, which was closest to the Kujuma mine, comprised abandoned houses , while the surface of a few among them continuously released thick, billowing smoke.


A new study lead by researchers from Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT and Harvard Medical School, Cambridge – USA has found that NeuroCOVID manifestations in post infections are determined by immunologic imprinting from previous coronaviruses.
The study findings were published on a preprint server and are currently being peer reviewed.
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.11.07.22282030v1
Post-acute neurological complications (neuroPASC) occur in a significant portion of the patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection.
These symptoms often occur in previously healthy individuals, even in the setting of asymptomatic or mild disease, and can persist for several months with significant impact on functional and work capacity.32
However, both biomarkers and mechanisms that explain these debilitating secondary effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection remain ill defined, but could revolutionize patient care and the development of disease-modifying therapies.
Emerging studies in individuals with PASC have begun to collectively point to anomalous immune mechanisms, marked by perturbated inflammatory cytokine profiles,33-35 altered cellular transcriptional signatures,36,37 and auto-antibodies production.36,38,39
However, given the heterogeneity of PASC clinical manifestations, including individuals with neurologic, respiratory, vascular, or rheumatologic complications, it is possible that unique pathways may be triggered during SARS-CoV-2 infection that may lead to distinct PASC phenotypes.
In the setting of neuroPASC, new data point towards immune-mediated mechanisms as a driver of disease. Thus, here we applied a systems serology approach and identified distinctive antibody signatures in neuroPASC individuals, characterized by compromised SARS-CoV-2 specific humoral responses in association with enhanced common Coronaviruses immunity.
Moreover, these common Coronaviruses immune responses were likely transferred from the circulation into the CSF, rather than generated within the CNS, and were directly associated with neuroPASC outcome. These data, collectively, point to a potentially incomplete maturation of the SARS-CoV-2 response, biased by a pre-existing humoral immunity to common Coronaviruses, that may lead to development of neuroPASC due to partial or delayed viral clearance and persistent neuroinflammation.
While it has been speculated that a persistent reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 in the CNS could contribute to neuronal damage in neuroPASC, analyses of CSF from living individuals7,40 as well as autopsy studies,41 have rarely detected active viral replication in the brain.
Moreover, viral replication in the CNS would likely be accompanied by recruitment of B cells in the brain, that would convert to antibody-secreting plasma cells capable to switch and locally generate large numbers of polyclonal antibodies of various Ig subclasses, in response to the local presence of antigen. Instead, individuals with neuroPASC had highly compartmentalized CSF-antibody profiles, characterized by lower levels, but highly focused IgG1 phagocytic profiles.
This is in line with previous observations in patients with acute COVID-19 and neurological manifestations, reporting CSF SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, whose target epitopes were different from serum antibodies,42 and were associated with compartmentalized cytokine production.43
While CSF-specific antibody profiles that we observed in neuroPASC were also present in the systemic circulation, the systemic response was much more diverse, arguing for the selective transfer of antibodies into the CNS. In homeostatic conditions, antibodies are thought to circulate into the brain through an FcRn-mediated transcytosis mechanism across the blood-brain barrier.44,45 FcRn binds to IgG1 with higher affinity than to other antibody subclasses, but additional selectivity was observed across antigen-specificity and FcγR binding capacities, arguing for the additional role of activating, but not inhibitory, FcγRs as co-transporters of antibodies into the CNS, potentially as a shield against any virus that should breach the blood-brain-barrier.
Similarly to our previous reports on HIV,46 these data suggest the presence of novel antibody transport mechanisms into the brain, but also point to limited immunologic evidence of persistent active viral replication, and antigen generation, into the brain.
The role of dysregulated immune mechanisms in the development of neurological complications of SARS-CoV-2 infection has become increasingly accepted. Most studies have focused on neurologic manifestations during the acute phase of COVID-19, and have shown the enrichment of both systemic immune activation47-49 and CSF-specific increased cytokine levels.50,51
Moreover, studies have shown evidence of higher levels of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, especially in the CSF, in individuals with more severe neurological disease and CNS damage.43,52-53 These data point towards a role for a hyperinflammatory state and neuroinflammation in the development of neurological manifestations during acute SARS-CoV-2 infection.51
However, the role of humoral and other immune responses in the persistence (or delayed onset) of neurological symptoms beyond acute COVID-19 disease is yet to be clarified. Our data show that individuals with neuroPASC exhibited a biased immune response across coronaviruses, with an expanded common Coronaviruses response (in particular 229E, NL63 and OC43) at the expense of an attenuated SARS-CoV-2 response in the serum and CSF.
This suggests a mechanism of original antigenic sin, in which previous immune responses to common Coronaviruses might shape subsequent responses to other related viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, which share high epitope homology. This mechanism, also known as immunologic imprinting, has been observed also for other pathogens, such as influenza virus30 and more recently HIV.54
These studies demonstrated that, during secondary exposure to pathogens, circulating antibodies produced during the primary humoral response modulate naïve B cell recruitment, blocking or skewing the maturation of the humoral response to the new pathogen. Likewise, in our study we observed a bias towards common Coronaviruses-specific immunity as a marker of neuroPASC, that may inhibit the evolution of new B cell responses to SARS-CoV-2, that may ultimately lead to decreased or delayed viral clearance.
Interestingly, this antibody signature was amplified in individuals with poor clinical outcome, across both compartments. These data suggest a previously unappreciated role for immunologic imprinting from other Coronaviruses that may induce a defective antibody-mediated control of SARS-CoV-2 infection, resulting in incomplete or delayed virus clearance, and persistence of systemic immune activation and neuroinflammation involved in the pathogenesis of neuroPASC.
Whether the markers identified here are simply biomarkers or mechanistic players in neuroPASC remains unknown, but may support the more effective identification, management, and potential treatment of individuals suffering from neuroPASC.
Neuroinvasion of SARS-CoV-2Several well-controlled studies and case series or case reports have documented SARS-CoV-2, albeit in low quantities, in the CNS of patients dying from or with COVID-19 [2,16,17,18,19]. The presence may only be transient and may only occur in a subset of patients, yet it raises an important question about how the virus gains access to the CNS.
COVID-19 leads to viremia and SARS-CoV-2 may target brain endothelial cells where SARS-CoV-2 proteins can be found [20,21,22]. Thus, the entry of SARS-CoV-2, present in blood, into the CNS via the neurovascular system passing through the blood–brain barrier, is a conceivable route of neuroinvasion. In fact, studies using animal models of the disease have suggested this possibility early in the pandemic [23]. Recent data using human-induced pluripotent stem cell-derived brain capillary endothelial-like cells not only show the transcellular transport of SARS-CoV-2 through brain endothelial cells, but also that the virus can replicate in these cells [24].
Using a human-induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived blood–brain barrier model in this study, the ultrastructural data map attachment of the virus to the apical side and the release of virus particles from the basolateral side of capillary endothelial-like cells in vitro [25]. The role of the highly vascularized choroid plexus, a structure with key roles not just in the blood–brain barrier maintenance, but also in blood–CSF barrier maintenance, has been highlighted in COVID-19, where its barrier functions are impaired, thus, further suggesting that there is a role for the blood–brain barrier in SARS-CoV-2 CNS entry [25].
SARS-CoV-2 is found in high quantities in the nasal cavity. Since dysfunction of the olfactory system, manifesting as hyposmia, is a prevalent and early symptom of COVID-19, the speculation on an olfactory route of SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion was raised very early in the pandemic. This scenario is openly discussed within the scientific community. In fact, there are patient- and animal-experiment-derived data showing that the virus, present in the olfactory mucosa, transits to the olfactory and sensory nerve endings contained within the olfactory mucosa, thereby gaining access to the CNS via the olfactory tract [22,26]. On the other hand, others contest this route of neuroinvasion; patient data show that, within the nasal cavity, SARS-CoV-2 is mainly found in the sustentacular cells within the respiratory mucosa; these studies neither found evidence of olfactory sensory neuron infection, nor of entry via the olfactory bulb [27,28].
Within the CNS, SARS-CoV-2-associated neuropathological alterations are most commonly seen in the brain stem [17]. In fact, in some patients dying with COVID-19, glial and neuroinflammatory reactions could be mapped to respiratory centers within the brain stem containing the nuclei of the vagal nerve [29]. These morphological data, together with clinical data suggesting vagal nerve dysfunction, led to the hypothesis that the vagal nerve may be involved in SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion. Moreover, the lung, as the prime target of SARS-CoV-2, is densely innervated by the vagal nerve. Although data from animal models are lacking, the fact that SARS-CoV-2 viral proteins can be found in the vagal nerve of patients dying with COVID-19 suggests a vagal route of SARS-CoV-2 CNS entry [17,29]. However, at present, no data demonstrate the involvement of the vagal nerve innervating in the gastrointestinal tract in SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion—although, since SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in rectal swabs, this additional possibility cannot be excluded [24].
The neuroinvasion of pathogens is a complex matter as it involves transitioning between different tissue compartments with tissue- and cell-type-specific replication cycles occurring in a well-defined spatial and temporal manner. Therefore, it is likely that further, more detailed studies of SARS-CoV-2 transport, and replication may yield novel routes of neuroinvasion; it is conceivable that the preferred route SARS-CoV-2 takes to gain access to the CNS very much depends on host- and pathogen-encoded factors, and redundancy may occur. Furthermore, it should be stressed that a considerable number of novel insights into SARS-CoV-2 neuroinvasion come from autopsy studies. As mentioned above, this population (i.e., patients having died from/with SARS-CoV-2) may not be fully representative of the milder clinical courses of COVID-19 seen in the vast majority of patients and rarely pictures the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection.
The Pathophysiology of NeuroCOVIDClinical and virological data argue in favor of CNS involvement in COVID-19, at least in a subset of patients; yet, mechanistic insights into the pathophysiology of neurological symptoms have not yet been fully elucidated. Indeed, even the key question has not been answered: is the observed CNS damage directly caused by SARS-CoV-2, or is this rather an indirectly mediated effect caused by an overshooting neuroimmune response? A putative sequence of events leading to both acute and long NeuroCOVID, backed by scientific data, could be as follows: In severe cases of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 is present in the blood, where it gains access to the CNS through the blood–brain barrier; alternatively or additionally, it can travel to the CNS using one of the aforementioned nerve-associated routes.
Once in the CNS, presence of the SARS-CoV-2 initiates several events (Figure 1). All of the below-mentioned pathways are corroborated by the experimental data, but need to be confirmed by other independent studies in a greater number of models and human participants.
The main SARS-CoV-2 protease Mpro (identical with Nsp5 or 3CLpro) proteolytically processes the host protein nuclear factor (NF)-κB essential modulator (NEMO), thereby disturbing NEMO-mediated signaling cascades, some of them being critical for the survival of brain endothelial cells [30]. This signaling impairment has multiple consequences, one of which is necroptotic cell death of endothelial cells and, consequently, microvascular damage [30]. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in the CNS, specifically in the neurovascular unit, leads to neuroimmune activation of both the innate immune system (manifested as microglial activation with microglial nodules) but also of the adaptive immune system (presenting with an enhanced presence in the CNS of monocytes and T helper cells) [18,24,31,32]. SARS-CoV-2 leads to the breakdown of the blood–brain barrier, either caused by CNS-specific effects or as a consequence of peripheral inflammation and/or peripheral overshooting immune responses [24,31,33]. A misleading immune reaction against SARS-CoV-2 may initiate the production of autoantibodies targeting neural antigens [34,35].
reference link :https://www.mdpi.com/2514-183X/6/2/10/htm


Centering Blackness, Challenging Latinidad
Latina/o Studies Association Conference 2022
Hosted by Notre Dame's Institute for Latino Studies
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556
July 11, 2022 — July 14, 2022
Calls for racial justice, accountability, resistance, and representation, which have a long history in this hemisphere, have strongly reverberated across Afro-Latina/o/x communities, prompting us to confront the colonial legacy of enslavement and anti-Black racism prevalent in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the U.S. The racial justice protests that erupted across the United States after the murder of George Floyd in May 2020 re-energized the Black Lives Matter and similar movements worldwide, including in Latin America, in the fight against global anti-Blackness. The present moment links us to a long critical history of decolonial struggles, including the Black Latin American struggle, which dates back centuries. Systemic anti-Blackness can take many forms, from the disproportional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Latina/o/x and Black communities to police brutality; from environmental racism to the crisis of climate refugees; from discrimination to colorism; and from invisibility to colonialism, among others.
As our title for the LSA 2022 Conference indicates, we believe it is imperative that we center Blackness within Latina/o/x Studies in order to confront the erasure of Afro-descendants from latinidad, something that Afro-Latinxs have demanded for a long time, both from our field of study and from the community at large. We seek to better understand and address systemic forms of racism against Black Latina/o/x communities and how these correlate and intersect with the escalation of anti-Asian violence, the continuing legacy of violence against Indigenous peoples, and global endemic violence against girls and women. Inspired by this moment of racial justice reckoning and the United Nations’ International Decade for People of African Descent (2015-2024), we aim to create a space where afrolatinidad is centered and celebrated, and where we can have an urgent and honest dialogue about how anti-Blackness impacts the Latina/o/x community.
Participants are invited to both register for the conference at Experience ND (below) and become a member of the Latino/a Studies Association. Membership in LSA is not a prerequisite for attending the conference in July but those presenting on stage must become members of the organization.
Originally published at latinostudies.nd.edu.


Processing speed is different from processing ability.
Sometimes, when a person realizes I have poor processing speed, they automatically assume I have poor processing ability. Their tone becomes more singsongy, their vocabulary more childlike, and their expressions more performative – thinking this makes it easier for me to understand.
It’s like they’ve never considered the possibility that a person can be both smart and slow.
I can’t handle a barrage of facts, descending haphazardly into my mind like Tetris. I freeze up, game over.
However, I can handle extremely complex information if you give it to me one bite at a time… with pauses in between to digest each new fact.
Everyone deserves respect, regardless of processing speed or ability. But remember that those are separate needs with separate accommodations, and they don’t always overlap.


This project will explore the impacts of compulsory energy audits on firms in Vietnam.
How do Special Economic Zones (SEZs) impact domestic firms' outcomes in low-income countries? This project aims to answer this question looking at the case of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Vietnam.
By collecting new firm-level data from nine countries across Africa and Asia, this project evaluates the impact of the ownership and control structures of firms on their management practices and performance.


Alliance University in collaboration with KPI Consulting had organized a day-long summit on Blockchain and AI: Its impact on various sectors. The summit was an amalgamation of expert sessions, panel discussions and paper presentations entirely based on application of Blockchain. With 18 speakers taking stage, the sessions were extremely informative, relevant and also paved way for joint research opportunities in the future.
Dr. Anubha Singh, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Acting Vice-Chancellor, delivered the inaugural address. She highlighted how emerging technologies such as Blockchain are impacting several sectors and also threw light on how educational institutions are incorporating these technologies as study disciplines in their respective institutions both globally and nationally.
Mr. Manish Jain, Partner, Digital Strategy and Innovation-KPMG, delivered the keynote address. The session focused on how DLT is relevant today as in comparison to the Internet 25 years ago. Taking a cue from the hype around DLT, he elaborated on how Indian organizations are testing the waters. Mr. Manish also mentioned that while understanding the evolution has posed severe challenges, organizations are attempting to converge multiple technologies with DLT to extract maximum value and be machine economy ready.
The pre-lunch session also had panel discussions and an expert session by Prof. K. C. Janardhan, Vice-Chair Karnataka-Europe India Center for Business and Industry who in his lucid speech focused on impact of Blockchain in electoral system and governance. Mr. Deepak Lalan, Blockchain Practice Leader-Accenture, addressed the gathering and provided meaningful insights on Blockchain, AI and IOT: It’s power and new business models at an intersection.
Paper presentations were done post lunch and the team from Trustin were adjudicated as the winners. The all-women team received their certificate of honor from senior faculty members of the University. The summit provided a platform for industry academia interface and the panelists interacted with students, research scholars and delegates from various organizations, leaving an indelible mark on young minds.
The session came to a close with the student volunteers of the event being felicitated by Prof. Mihir Dash, Area Chair-General Management, Alliance School of Business.
SOURCE Alliance University


Marné
When my husband and I found out I was pregnant with our first child, I planned, read, and prepared not only for the baby, but for postpartum depression. I knew my genetics made postpartum depression likely, so I expected it. However, it took me by complete surprise by tricking me into thinking everything was okay.
I felt ecstatic after delivering my child. The delivery had gone without complications, and I felt an astonishing bond with my husband and our new baby boy. As far as everyone else knew, this is how my life continued for the next year.
However, the truth is much different; not even my husband knows the depth of the pain and loneliness I experienced. My euphoria didn’t last long. It started darkening in the hospital with the exhaustion of learning how to nurse. Some people describe depression as a cloud of fog that surrounds the brain. Mine was more like a thick, debilitating smoke. I felt like I couldn’t breathe; when I did, I inhaled filthy, self-destructive air. I began to suffer a slow, silent suffocation, and there were moments I was sure my torment would end in death. It was just as real as any other life-threatening complications that accompany pregnancy, labor, and giving birth.
My husband would hide the car keys before bed, afraid I would take them in the night during one of my manias. I would rock back and forth, repeating destructive thoughts that were obliterating my mind. I felt my little family deserved better than what I could offer and would be happier without me. I wouldn’t even let my husband touch me. I was so angry, and didn’t want him to feel obligated to be around me. My light had gone out. My extended family lived in a different state, and I had no friends. I truly felt alone.
I had fits of rage that engulfed me. I threw things at the wall and ripped my favorite books apart. I didn’t feel like I deserved any joy. I flinched at the sound of my phone ringing and avoided visitors as much as possible. I would scream at my husband when he asked me how he could help. After he suggested giving our son a bottle one night, I locked myself in the bathroom and cried uncontrollably as I clawed at the floor. I was beginning to resent my sweet baby boy. I was in more pain than I had ever experienced, and I didn’t want to exist any longer.
I would lie awake at night, thinking God was punishing me for being such a horrible mother. If I happened to fall asleep, my eyes would shoot open with any small noise, thinking someone was hiding in the closet. If I couldn’t hear my baby breathing, I would leap out of bed and run to his crib. I would sit, frozen with terror, at seeing the morning sunshine come through our windows. That light meant my husband would go to work, and I would be left alone again, feeling abandoned.
Postpartum depression robbed me of my hope, desires, creativity, self-worth, and any will to survive. Instead, it replaced these things with self-loathing, hatred for things I once loved, thoughts of destruction, and an unending darkness. Even though I still felt an all-consuming love for my son, it was weighed down with worry.
I had no ability to crawl out of this dark hole. My husband literally kept me alive. He fed me and made sure I showered every few days. He made me drink and go outside for fresh air. I don’t remember many specifics from these months, but I remember feeling like a vegetable. With every panic attack, my heart would feel like it was about to explode.
I am still recovering from and fighting through illnesses that were triggered by hormones and chemicals in my brain after my first son’s birth. I have been diagnosed with Bipolar II (Manic Depression), Clinical Depression, Generalized Anxiety, and Social Anxiety. I am battling these illnesses every day. I am in therapy, exploring my options for medication, and finding other creative ways to seek joy. As I wrestle with these afflictions, I am becoming stronger. Every day, I am fighting a hidden battle for my life and for my family.
Bad attitudes are a choice. Depression is not. One day, mental and emotional illnesses will not be seen as negative personality traits, and we will be able to talk about our hidden battles without being afraid of judgment. One day, victims to these disorders of the mind will be seen as warriors, just as someone who battles a physical cancer. We are warriors who suffer silently, and we are masters of counterfeit conversations and fake smiles that hide behind social media profiles. As we take more time to be true friends to those around us, lives will be saved and the world will change.


Organizer:
KTH, Department of Applied Physics
Lecturer:
Mohammad Amin Baghban
Location:
FA32
Date:
Friday 26 October
Time:
10:00 - 13:00
Abstract [en]
Lithium niobate (LN) is a ferroelectric crystal offering a broad transparency spectrum, together with excellent electro-optic and nonlinear optical properties. Thanks to them, LN is setting the standard for quantum optics and telecommunications in critical applications such as ultrafast modulation and frequency conversion. The development of a reliable nanophotonic platform in LN can be expected to effectively leverage all such appealing functionalities in compact and integrated formats and provide important and complementary functionalities to current silicon-photonics platforms.
This thesis encompasses systematic and consistent efforts with the goal to achieve the key building blocks for a comprehensive integrated nanophotonic platform in LN. It involves work on the technology side, sustained and complemented by modelling and experiments, ultimately leading to the demonstration of a few novel devices.
Ultrahigh field confinement in nanophotonic waveguides is accompanied by the appearance of non-negligible longitudinal components in the guided optical fields. By fabricating high-quality LN nanopillars and analyzing with theory and experiments their second harmonic generation (SHG) response, we provide evidence for the existence of longitudinal field components and demonstrate the possibility to reshape the SHG polar emission properties of these submicrometric waveguides by fine-tuning the nanopillar size.
This thesis also presents a different technological approach, allowing the fabrication of photonic wires as small as 250 nm with lengths up to 1 cm on LN-on-insulator (LNOI), suitable for upscaling to photonic integrated circuit (PIC) architectures. By optimizing the fabrication process, the propagation losses of single-mode waveguides at telecom wavelengths on this platform were brought down from 76 to 1.13 dB/cm. Fine-pitch waveguide structuring was also successfully achieved, enabling LNOI-to-fiber grating couplers and waveguide Bragg gratings, the latter featuring record extinction ratios in LNOI (45 dB), comparable to the state of the art in silicon.
The thesis involves also theoretical work on the design of photonic wires where the interplay between LN and waveguide birefringence is used to achieve polarization-insensitive operation for the fundamental guided modes.
Finally, two demonstrators are provided for novel and emerging applications of LN to the life sciences, using LNOI surface-patterned templates for enhanced Raman spectroscopy and LN templates for controlled neuron growth and manipulation in microfluidic environments, respectively.


Earlier this week Diversity in Fund Finance hosted a virtual event for its Boundary Breakers speaker series. The series is aimed at having open conversations with senior leaders to give voice to the unique issues and perspectives diverse professionals face. The inaugural event featured Vicky Du, Global Head of Fund Finance at Standard Chartered, and was moderated by Albert Tan, Partner and Co-Chair of the Fund Finance Practice Group at Haynes and Boone.
The wide-ranging and insightful conversation explored Vicky’s career path and what led to her current leadership role at Standard Chartered. She shared with the audience the challenges she has faced and how she overcame them to achieve her career ambitions. She also imparted the lessons she learned regarding how to thrive in the wake of adversities she faced coming to the United States from China.
Vicky’s advice for diverse professionals: each person should recognize the value they add to their team and embrace that value in order to have the confidence to speak up and contribute in meetings and other forums. She emphasized the importance of developing effective communication skills, regardless of one’s first spoken language, and a willingness to show vulnerability and ask for help or guidance. Vicky also counseled the audience that there are rewards to be had from seeking advice. She said she has always been pleasantly surprised by how much people will want to connect and offer their assistance and advice.
Vicky also advised current and upcoming leaders to consider the cultural differences that might exist on a team. She said that leaders should be cognizant of these differences, and they can and should adapt their communication and leadership styles to embrace all backgrounds and bring everyone to the table to get the most out of their teams.
The discussion also touched on the importance of relationship-building. This can take the form of engaging our colleagues, counterparts, and other constituents to get to know them better on a personal level, and each person should feel confident to be their authentic self and share their interests.
There are many forms of diversity that can exist on our teams, and Vicky noted the importance of embracing them all. In her view, the more we can each do on a personal level to connect with one another, the more that we form more cohesive teams and a more inclusive society.


The UAE is one of the world’s top 20 economies in terms of FDI. AIM 2022 will explore pivotal themes, including mainstreaming Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investments and importance of special economic zones (SEZ), among other relevant topics. The event this year will witness the who’s who of the industries as banking, finance, retail, agriculture, energy and more. The participants will highlight several interesting topics as – attracting quality investments, integrating innovative approaches in investment promotion, FDIs for future cities, zero risk startups, Metaverse experience and more.
While bringing in foreign investment to the UAE has been AIM’s prime goal, figures reflect the success story. The UAE ranked first regionally and 9th globally in the Global Competitiveness Report 2021 issued by the Global Competitiveness Centre and ranked first globally in 22 indicators. Despite the UN’s figures that global foreign direct investment flows decreased by 42 per cent in 2020, the UAE recorded a 44 per cent growth in inward FDI flows in 2020, compared to 2019, to reach AED73 billion.
AIM 2022 sessions will focus on different subjects reflecting the need of the hour. The forum is one of the most exclusive investments gatherings in the world, bringing together prominent political, economic, financial and academic figures. The much-acclaimed event has achieved several historic milestones as it offers a truly-knowledge based forum with cutting edge information on the latest developments in FDI and related issues.
“Flexibility of business environment, constant update of provisions to meet global standards, keeping capital inflows flowing have all contributed to making the UAE a global magnet for investment and entrepreneurship. Stepping in to make such an endeavour a grand success has been the instrumental role of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM), an initiative of the UAE’s Ministry of Economy, which has continuously served as a stimulating platform for ideas and programmes related to investments,” said Dawood Al Shezawi, President of the Annual Investment Meeting Organizing Committee.
It has been noted that the digital technologies particularly, artificial intelligence, renewable energy and other disruptive technologies are all major and initiatives for FDIs.
With the stage set for another vibrant session, statistics has proved AIM’s inherent strength as a powerful platform.


ISS 2022: Semiconductor Industry Market Outlook and Prospects for Reaching $1 Trillion by 2030
Speaking to nearly 300 executives gathered at the Industry Strategy Symposium (ISS) 2022 in early April, Inna Skvortsova, Market Analyst on the Market Intelligence Team at SEMI, said the global semiconductor industry is “demonstrating extraordinary growth powered by digitization of global economies and a surge in demand for semiconductors” as she presented upbeat industry forecasts for 2022 and beyond.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in materials consumption over the past several years,” Skvortsova said, citing the SEMI Materials Market Data Subscription (MMDS). “SEMI recently revised its 2022 forecast upwards to 7% growth following record results in 2021. Both wafer fab and packaging materials are contributing to the market expansion. Wafer fab materials are on track to grow 8.4% while packaging materials are set to expand 3.9% in 2022.”
Total Semiconductor Materials Market Growth to New Records
Fab construction investments from 2021-2023 are also reaching historic highs, with spending increasing 14% to nearly $26 billion in 2022 alone. Twenty-eight new volume fabs are starting construction in 2022, including 23 300mm fabs and five fabs dedicated to 200mm and below.
New Fab Construction Reaching Historic Highs
With capacity constraints a key industry topic, the SEMI World Fab Forecast projects 300mm capacity growing 11% in 2022 and 8% in 2023, while 200mm capacity is expected to increase 5% and 3% in 2022 and 2023, respectively.
“However, this industry growth is not without some uncertainty,” Skvortsova said. “Potential industry headwinds include inflationary pressures, ongoing supply-chain challenges and geopolitical tensions. The talent shortage is also becoming more pronounced as the industry pushes to expand production capacity.”


The Ministry of Business has been working with the Ministry of Legal Affairs to develop a modern, secure transaction system to facilitate the use of moveable property, both tangible and intangible, to use as collateral for business and consumer lending.
The regime includes the development of a legislative framework and the establishment of an electronic collateral registry. To do so, government has received support from the Inter-American Development Bank through Consultant, Professor Tom Johnson, who has been working with the Ministries in the drafting of a Moveable Property Security Bill 2018.
To solicit input, a consultation was conducted with the aim of highlighting the purpose of the Bill which is to improve ease of doing business in Guyana.
At the Cara Lodge, Quamina Street, Georgetown consultation, which was facilitated by Professor Johnson, members of the Guyana Bar Association and other stakeholders were in attendance to explore the conceptual and functional features of the draft Bill.
Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC, noted that the Bill provides for a comprehensive, integrated framework for secured transaction in movable property. All movable property under this framework, qualify as property regardless of item or type with a few exceptions.
Moreover, Minister Williams noted that the policies embodied in the Bill are not major changes since they have been part of Guyana’s laws and practised in one form of the security device or other.
“The legislative framework introduces a modern, centralized electronic registry system in which authorized registrants will have direct access to the entry registry database for the purpose of entering their record of a secured transaction,” Minister Williams explained.
The system will be built on a newly designed platform for company records and will operate in real time. The principles and policies underlined in the Bill mirrors the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law model on secured transactions.
“The proposed legal and institutional framework will provide Guyana with the Caribbean’s most modern legislation dealing with secured transaction. This legislation will enhance risk assessment management and mitigation for lenders. It will promote access to finance for a broader spectrum of borrowers, especially small and medium-sized enterprises,” Minister Williams noted.
The Bill is also expected to facilitate infrastructure development and offshore investment in the country and prepare the way for the impending expansion of the oil and gas industry. President of the Guyana Bar Association, Kamal Ramkarran, said the legal fraternity welcomed the collaborative effort to improve understanding of the Bill.
The draft Moveable Property Security Bill 2018 can be found on the Ministry of Business website.


In an increasingly competitive industry demanding a greater and greater edge from its professionals, manufacturers can leverage plant benchmarking to implement better data and discover best practices within and across their plants.
Plant benchmarking initiatives allow manufacturers to harness data from both new and legacy assets for smarter decisions and smarter investments. Your peers in manufacturing are leveraging these insights to:
To learn how your peers are taking these steps with plant benchmarking, watch IndustryWeek’s full video below. Throughout, you’ll have access to research-backed insights to inform your multi-plant benchmarking journey.
To learn more about what plant benchmarking initiatives could mean across your enterprise, explore more PTC resources to inform your path toward best practices today.


CONTACT US:Contact info
Brown J, Burnette ML, Cerulli C. J. Interpers. Violence 2015; 30(15): 2709-2725.
University of Rochester, NY, USA Catherine_Cerulli@urmc.rochester.edu.
(Copyright © 2015, SAGE Publishing)
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Intimate partner violence (IPV), childhood abuse, and sexual assault in adulthood are profound public health concerns, particularly for women. Exposure to trauma can contribute to long-standing health problems and escalated medical costs. Unfortunately, these experiences are often intertwined. Sexual assault often occurs in intimate relationships in which there is concurrent IPV; likewise, many victims of IPV have experienced childhood abuse. The prevalent intersections of these struggles can lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. This article examines the contributions of childhood abuse histories and sexual assault to PTSD symptoms among women experiencing IPV.
Language: en


Immune system health is a critical factor in human survival. Your immune system protects you from diseases and other illnesses by identifying and destroying pathogens, such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, biotoxins, and viruses. When your immune system is compromised, it can’t defend against these threats, which means you’re more susceptible to illness.


This is a partial article. If you’d like to read the full blog, head on over to our friends at TechCrunch
Traditionally, companies have relied upon data masking, sometimes called de-identification, to protect data privacy. The basic idea is to remove all personally identifiable information (PII) from each record. However, a number of high-profile incidents have shown that even supposedly de-identified data can leak consumer privacy.
In 1996, an MIT researcher identified the then-governor of Massachusetts’ health records in a supposedly masked dataset by matching health records with public voter registration data. In 2006, UT Austin researchers re-identifed movies watched by thousands of individuals in a supposedly anonymous dataset that Netflix had made public by combining it with data from IMDB.
In a 2022 Nature article, researchers used AI to fingerprint and re-identify more than half of the mobile phone records in a supposedly anonymous dataset. These examples all highlight how “side” information can be leveraged by attackers to re-identify supposedly masked data.
These failures led to differential privacy. Instead of sharing data, companies would share data processing results combined with random noise. The noise level is set so that the output does not tell a would-be attacker anything statistically significant about a target: The same output could have come from a database with the target or from the exact same database but without the target. The shared data processing results do not disclose information about anybody, hence preserving privacy for everybody.
Operationalizing differential privacy was a significant challenge in the early days. The first applications were primarily the provenance of organizations with large data science and engineering teams like Apple, Google or Microsoft. As the technology becomes more mature and its cost decreases, how can all organizations with modern data infrastructures leverage differential privacy in real-life applications?
Differential privacy applies to both aggregates and row-level data
When the analyst cannot access the data, it is common to use differential privacy to produce differentially private aggregates. The sensitive data is accessible through an API that only outputs privacy-preserving noisy results. This API may perform aggregations on the whole dataset, from simple SQL queries to complex machine learning training tasks.
A typical setup for leveraging personal data with differential privacy guarantees. Image Credits: Sarus Want to keep reading? Finish the article on TechCrunch!


Issue link: http://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/694071
48 m a s s a g e & b o d y w o r k j u l y / a u g u s t 2 0 1 6 Proper function of the breathing mechanism depends on the mobility of all sides of the rib cage and the abdominal cavity, as well as coordinated activation of the diaphragm and associated breathing muscles. Rigidity or obstruction of movement in the expansion or recoil movement of the thoracic cavity, or that of the abdominal cavity, can impede normal breath. Additionally, postural deviations that limit thoracic or abdominal mobility in any direction may also be restrictive. Ensuring mobility of both cavities in all directions maximizes breathing efficiency and reduces stress on the diaphragm and the associated respiration muscles. Christy Cael is a licensed massage therapist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and instructor at the Bodymechanics School of Myotherapy & Massage in Olympia, Washington. Her private practice focuses on injury treatment, biomechanical analysis, craniosacral therapy, and massage for clients with neurological issues. She is the author of Functional Anatomy: Musculoskeletal Anatomy, Kinesiology, and Palpation for Manual Therapists (Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009). Contact her at functionalbook@hotmail.com. Facilitating Breath Positioning: client supine. 1. Standing at the client's side, place both hands on the client's anterior chest (A). 2. Instruct the client to breathe deeply into the chest as you gently and firmly press posteriorly and inferiorly. Repeat several times. 3. Place one hand on each side of the lower rib cage (B). 4. Instruct the client to breathe deeply into the abdomen and sides as you gently and firmly squeeze the rib cage medially. FUNCTIONAL ANATOMY Client Homework—Cat/Cow Pose 1. Start on your hands and knees with your palms flat. Align your wrists and elbows directly under your shoulders and your knees under your hips. 2. To perform the cat pose, exhale and round your spine toward the ceiling as you relax your head, allowing your chin to drop toward your chest. 3. Focus on spreading your ribs apart as you round your back. 4. Reverse to cow pose as you inhale, allowing your back to sag while you lift your head and open your ribs and chest. 5. Repeat the sequence, alternating between cat and cow with your breath. A B


The announcement made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday morning about the Centre’s decision to repeal farm reform laws during the winter session of parliament elicited a mixed reaction from the agriculture and allied sectors.
‘Politics takes precedence over everything,’ said P Chengal Reddy, Chief Advisor of the Consortium of Indian Farmers Association, expressing dissatisfaction with the decision.
‘(Agitating) Farmers in Delhi are pleased, but the rest of the country will face a lack of technology, processing problems, and technological advances. The agricultural sector would have benefited from the reforms. We are surprised that such a strong leader as Modi has chosen to step down,’ Reddy said.
Laws that are progressive
Veteran rice exporter Vijay Kumar Setia stated that the laws were progressive in nature but needed some tweaking to satisfy egos.
‘Farming communities in Punjab and Haryana will be cut off from the natural agriculture mainstream, while others will move on,’ he predicted.
Break the impasse
The Agrochemical Federation of India applauded the government’s decision to repeal the laws. The federation’s Director-General, Kalyan Goswami, stated that it would aid in breaking the current impasse.
‘We also appreciate the Prime Minister’s commitment to providing farmers with high-quality seeds, making it easy to file claims for damages, and paying farmers a fair price for their produce,’ he added.
Incorrect implementation
According to Ankit Chauhan, Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of InfyU LABS, the laws are progressive and aim to give farmers more liberty and fairness in their trade. However, it cannot be denied that the implementation of these laws was substandard.
‘Farmers were not prepared for the changes imposed by these laws. The infrastructure and awareness needed for successful policy implementation were not in place when these laws were announced last year. Repealing these laws was an urgent necessity. We hope that a new, improved policy will be implemented in the near future, taking into account all necessary corrections and solutions,’ he said.
Modi’s empathy admirable
DRE Reddy, the CEO and Managing Partner of CRCL LLP, the largest domestically managed contractual food services company, said Modi’s empathy for the protesting farmers was admirable.
‘At the same time,’ he said, ‘the government must consider drastic reforms in the farm sector through inclusive participation of all stakeholders with the sole goal of ensuring the right kind of gains for farmers.’
State amendments should be repealed
Prakash Kammaradi, a former Chair Chair of Karnataka Agricultural Prices Commission who is now involved in the farmers’ movement, stated that the State’s amendments to the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act should also be revoked in light of the Centre’s decision.
The jurisdiction of APMC mandis, which had been reduced to their physical boundaries, should now be restored to its original levels, encompassing all talukas, he said.
Kurubur Shantakumar, Convenor of Karnataka Samyukta Kisan Morcha, the State’s umbrella farmer organisation, said the Central Government should compensate the families of the 670 farmers who died during the farmers’ agitation.
According to Satya Muley, Advocate, Bombay High Court, the repeal of the laws demonstrates that a democratically elected government can be brought to a halt by protests, even on progressive legislation.
‘There could have been major communication breakdowns on both sides. The opposition has done everything possible to exploit communication gaps,’ he added.


Annette Couvillon comes to healthcare design with a diversity of experiences and backgrounds, including studies in heritage conversation, architectural history, and community design. She joined HKS in 2014, becoming part of the Dallas office’s pediatric health team, garnering experience developing projects through all stages, which has provided her with a core body of knowledge to lead an evidence-based design process in her work.
As an architect and healthcare planner, Couvillon has been integral to providing a full-service design partnership with Cook Children’s Medical Center, including several iterations of Site Analysis and Master Planning for greenfield and urban environments. Her colleagues note that customizing her work to the unique needs of individuals while still meeting the project’s overarching goals is a hallmark of her work. Additionally, she promotes knowledge sharing within her workgroup by scheduling time for team members to share interesting work and lessons learned. As she develops materials for the Transition Operational Plan for Cook Children’s Medical Center in Prosper, Texas, she’s implementing Lean tools to document decisions determining operations and the move sequence of furniture, equipment, and supplies. Additionally, she’s using her knowledge management practices to preserve relevant content for future projects, such as the design documentation needed to create a staff training program to fulfill the design intent.
Furthermore, as her team’s Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion advocate, Couvillon facilitates dialogue to understand the uniqueness of her peers. For example, while participating in an interoffice exchange in Washington, D.C., Couvillon collected stories from her new colleagues to celebrate the individual experiences that influence their design methods. Her colleagues note that she’s one of their most relied upon healthcare designers in the practice, armed with the perseverance, empathy, and curiosity to serve her well as she continues to rise in her career.
Path to healthcare design: Growing up in Louisiana, I was fascinated by the vernacular architecture, that emerged from a need to survive an unpredictable environment. In college I traveled to Amman, Jordan, to document the living conditions in a Palestinian refugee camp, a temporary solution that became multigenerational. I experienced first-hand how places created without gaining the community’s trust will often be fruitless in influencing health and wellness. My passion for community-centered design led me to join HKS, which prioritizes design solutions that enhance the human experience. The health team taught me to listen earnestly to those intended to occupy a space to provide safe and comfortable environments that support safety and healing. Describe your design approach: Empower choice and adaptation to transform space for individual requirements. On your desk now: Implementing the design of the 240,000-square-foot multispecialty clinic and surgery expansion for Cook Children’s Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. I’m also developing the transition move-in strategy to operationalize their 213,500-square-foot greenfield hospital in Prosper, Texas. As an architect and healthcare planner, I facilitate the selection of strategic guiding principles, site analysis, and master planning. I assist operational leaders in improving team performance and challenge user groups to evaluate their physical environment to enhance patient care and workflow. Most rewarding project to date: The Adolescent and Young Adult Cancer Unit at Baylor Scott & White All Saints. I learned the power of choice in supporting unique psychosocial needs such as individual function and relationships. Designing for the often-overlooked adolescent and young adult population taught me the importance of adaptable sensory environments. This shaped my endeavors in strategizing the neuro-behavioral program at Cook Children’s Medical Center, which was envisioned to serve another unique population. What success means to you: Success is timely decision-making through collaborative analysis of risk and return. It’s serving as a partner to a client from a project’s inception to completion to ensure full ownership and acceptance of the environment to provide and receive care. Industry challenge on your radar: While design is never a one-size-fits-all solution, great design transforms to meet the needs of individuals. Choice is a valuable catalyst for personal growth and connection. As an industry, we should promote flexible environments of equal value and avoid designing a primary experience paired with a limited or lesser experience. Must-have skill for healthcare designers today: Curiosity is essential to healthcare design as an ever-changing industry that revolves around complex processes and tools. As time and nature will change best practice and possibilities, designers must be prepared to listen and learn every day to create spaces that provide comfort and community. New pandemic-inspired work habit: Working remotely required adjustments to remain connected to my team. Recurring virtual coordination necessitated more concise communication. I regularly set aside time to catch up with my team and ask about their health and life events to align the project workplan to their personal goals and time off. On days at home, flex work allows me to care for my mental health by taking breaks to walk or play fetch with my German Shephard puppy. On office days, I have a greater appreciation for the opportunity to gather with coworkers. Anne DiNardo is executive editor of Healthcare Design. She can be reached at [email protected]


Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus) is a non-invasive perennial plant, which produces canes up to four meters high, which can be upgraded into energy and materials. The cultivation of miscanthus allows the enhancement of marginal or sensitive plots.
What are the uses of the collected crushing?
Inexpensive to produce, miscanthus crushing has various uses:
Mulching in parks and gardens or for market gardening Animal Litter Insulation in eco-construction Agrofuel (in the form of crushing or pellets/briquettes) for biomass boilers.
Incorporation in biocomposites is currently under research and development.
Environmental benefits
Miscanthus is particularly suitable for buff er strips and sloping plots. Not requiring fertilisation or phytosanitary treatments, miscanthus reduces the risk of pollution of surface and ground water. Its planting is therefore indicated in catchment areas. By covering the ground almost permanently, it slows down muddy flows and erosion,reduces leaching of nitrates and improves the infiltrability of plots while providing a winter refuge for local wildlife.


As an independent, unaffiliated pre-need funeral planner, I think that the results from the 2008 inspection are deplorable and the title of the press release is completely misleading. It basically spells out that not even one in seven states had a clean record, and good luck if you need to rely or trust a funeral home in Northeastern Arkansas, whose 15 inspected funeral homes received a 100% FAIL for compliance. In fact, only one state (NY) was below half of its funeral homes inspected receiving either a significant or minor violation. And the “penalty” for funeral homes with significant violations is to opt out of costly and public litigation, instead entering into a 3-year program to learn how to operate a compliant funeral home, while continuing day-to-day operations as a funeral home, and pay annual fees to an association that they likely already belong to, ultimately paying themselves. This builds consumer confidence? I continue to be shocked by the stories our clients share and the rude behavior of funeral homes towards us when we request information. I find the results of the 2008 survey, with over 61% of investigated funeral homes cited for either a significant or minor violation, embarrassing to the FTC, aside from the fact that for the entire year of 2008, only 104 funeral homes were included. It does not build consumer confidence, but it does make me believe even more strongly that consumers can and should protect themselves.
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Many people think of cats as pets or even gifts. What cat owners understand that others do not, however, is that these animals are far more important. Cats are members of the family, and as such, they give and receive just as much love as anyone would expect from a family member. Rescuing a cat is not a one-way gift; they pay back love with their own kindness and support.
One case that truly exemplifies the importance of cats in a household is that of Jen Johnson and her five Persian cats. Both Johnson and the troupe of felines that fill her home with love have benefited from their relationship. In addition to being rescued from dire situations like a past owner who threatened to throw one of the cats out a window, the cats owe Johnson a great deal for the care and devotion that she shows them. While Persian cats are gorgeous animals, they do require significant healthcare. This is particularly true for Johnson’s cats, for whom she has spent a great deal of time and money.
However, the cats have repaid Johnson for her generosity many times over. In fact, she credits her feline family for saving her life. Johnson suffers from hidradenitis suppurativa, a condition which has left her in both physical and mental agony. The condition results in skin lesions and infections, and has also caused depression for Johnson. Without her cats, Johnson has stated that she would likely not get out of bed on many days.
With the cats depending on her, however, she is forced to get up and moving. As well, the love and affection that she receives from these cats is invaluable. Each feline member of the family is unique and brings joy to Johnson’s home in different ways.
Woolard is an adorable Persian who Johnson adopted from the Humane Society. In addition to his positive attitude and constant tail-wagging, Woolard is distinctive for his continuous drooling.
Ruby was rescued from an irresponsible breeder who was seeking munchkin kittens. As such, she suffers from a wide range of health problems, just like Johnson. Despite her health, Ruby has proven to be the most affectionate of the group.
Snuffy is Johnson’s favorite, and was rescued after her breeder was unable to find a home. She stands out from the other cats due to her loud snoring.
Old Man is a cat that has endured some difficult times, particularly after his previous owner was deported. When he was rescued, his hair was so matted that it limited his mobility. He remains grateful and happy to see the groomers who liberated him from such struggles.
Cleo is the final Persian cat in the family, and like Johnson, suffers from a debilitating condition. Cleo has pica, a condition which causes her to eat things that are not food. In addition to suffering from this condition, she also has anxiety.
Clearly, each of these rescued Persian cats is unique and faces different challenges. However, what unites them all is their ability to bring joy and love into Johnson’s life. They have rescued her just as she rescued them, and together they have become a strong and happy family.


A restless child has trouble napping at preschool and seeks his teacher’s attention. Two preschoolers battle over a toy in a busy classroom, sparking a conflict that ends in hitting or crying. Countless similar scenarios unfold daily at child care centers nationwide, which enroll more than 60% of 3- to 5-year-olds in the U.S. How… Continue reading Helping Preschool Teachers Better Manage Stress


Working Paper
An estimate of current collection and potential collection of used cooking oil from major Asian exporting countries
As a low-carbon feedstock for biofuel that is both technologically mature and commercially available, used cooking oil (UCO) is ideal for meeting existing biofuel mandates in Europe and the United States. Proposed revisions to the European Union’s the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II) and new proposals that incentivize the use of renewable fuels in the aviation and marine sectors are likely to stimulate even more demand for UCO imports in Europe. At the same time, the demand for UCO for biofuel within Asia is increasing, as well. This study explores literature to assess how much UCO is likely to be available from six major UCO-exporting Asian countries—China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and the Republic of Korea—to consider the potential availability of what is inherently a limited resource.
The table below is a summary of our estimates, and the estimates of collection potential assume 100% collection from urban restaurants, 50% from urban households, and 100% from food processing nationwide. UCO in the illicit gutter oil market is not considered, due to lack of data. However, any UCO surpluses in the final column, particularly in China, India, and Indonesia, might not exist because the UCO could be used in the gutter oil market. Studies suggest that gutter oil is a problem in these three countries, even as their governments try to address it through things like a biofuel program or adjusting the market price of cooking oil to increase legal UCO collection. Note, too, that due the assumptions made about current collection, uses, trade, and lack of data on gutter oil, this work may underestimate or overestimate any surplus or deficit identified in the final column of the table.
We further estimate that the European Union could demand around 3,500 kilotonnes of UCO imports in 2030 if a proposed revision to RED II goes into effect. The two new proposals, FuelEU Maritime and ReFuelEU Aviation, would further incentivize additional UCO-based fuels beyond the incentives in RED II. In 2035, for example, the ReFuelEU Aviation 15% SAF mandate (outside the 5% submandate) could incentivize demand for 5,600 kilotonnes of UCO imports. These are a sizeable amount when compared to our total estimate for current collection in these six countries, which is between 3,700 and 5,000 kilotonnes. We therefore suggest the European Union include 1.7% caps on waste oils in amendments to both ReFuelEU Aviation and FuelEU Maritime, to align with the 1.7% cap on waste oils in RED II. Such caps are reflective of a desire to stimulate other kinds of renewable fuels in addition to those derived from waste oils like UCO.